Purple Charm's body was buried at the edge of the village. Before long, the system would erase her remains completely. Burying her was the last dignity the Dragon Nation could offer its players.
Wind Snow Traveler walked into a small thatched hut nearby. Inside stood a wooden plaque bearing more than two hundred IDs. He had carved Purple Charm's name onto it, too.
Clearly, these were all players who had died in Zone 18 of Novice Village.
"All right, everyone, go back and get some rest."
After taking care of everything, Wind Snow Traveler waved for the other players to leave.
Once everyone was gone, Blade Shadow, standing nearby, eagerly pressed him for answers.
"Boss, what happened? Those five actually made it out alive?"
Wind Snow Traveler glanced at him. "What? You wanted them dead?"
"That's not what I meant," Blade Shadow hurriedly explained. "They're a bunch of beginners who just entered the game, yet they survived a level-four Fierce Beast, a Diamond Behemoth. I'm genuinely curious what they did."
Wind Snow Traveler looked up at the pitch-black night sky, his voice tinged with a strange emotion. "They didn't survive the Diamond Behemoth's attack. They survived because they killed one."
"What?" Blade Shadow's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "Boss, you're not joking, are you? They killed a Diamond Behemoth?"
"I saw its corpse with my own eyes. What do you think?"
Blade Shadow was too stunned to speak.
Wind Snow Traveler's eyes were deep and unreadable. "Looks like there's an overlooked genius among the new players who arrived this time. Maybe our Zone 18 will have a chance to claim some resources in next year's Regional Grand Competition."
The night passed quickly.
In the morning, the new players planned to leave the village and hunt again.
Purple Charm's death had shaken them, but if they wanted to survive in Cloud Sea, it was something they would have to face.
The four members of the Hard to Figure Out team wanted to disband and join the other three teams.
In Cloud Sea, parties had no player limit, but most players chose to form groups of five. That offered a reasonable degree of safety and made it easier to distribute Core Power.
After what had happened the previous day, the four members of Hard to Figure Out would never go hunting alone as a group of four, so they had asked to join the other three teams.
Han the Person rolled his eyes. The four members of Hard to Figure Out had abandoned them and fled on their own yesterday. Now they wanted to join them? They could forget about it.
They didn't want teammates who would abandon their companions!
However, when Xiao Fan didn't say anything, Han the Person exchanged a glance with the others and kept quiet as well.
Their team now looked to Xiao Fan as its leader.
"Jiu Chen, I know what we did yesterday was wrong, but I was so scared that all I could think about was going back to the village for help. I didn't mean to abandon you." Hard to Figure Out tried to explain again.
"Our team plans to enter the Northwest Forest today."
At Xiao Fan's words, everyone froze.
The Northwest Forest was home to level-two Red Flame Foxes and level-three Green Wood Wolves.
Xiao Fan Team actually planned to hunt level-two and level-three Fierce Beasts!
This was what Xiao Fan had decided after giving it careful thought the day before. Hunting level-one Fierce Beasts brought too little reward. He was desperate to level up, and the best way was to hunt level-two and level-three Fierce Beasts.
All four members of his team had reached level two, and after what had happened yesterday, the team had almost finished getting used to working together. They would have no problem entering a level-two and level-three area.
He had planned to tell the four members of Han the Person's team just now, but Hard to Figure Out had brought up joining them first.
Instead of being afraid when they heard Xiao Fan's plan, the four members of Han the Person's team were eager to give it a try.
Killing a level-four Fierce Beast the previous day had given them unprecedented confidence.
They'd already killed a level-four Fierce Beast. What was there to fear from level-two and level-three ones? They could take them down with a few swings!
"Right, we're going to the Northwest Forest today. If you want to join us, come along."
"Let's get one thing straight: we're going there to hunt, not to protect anyone. If you're planning to slack off, don't blame us for being rough."
"The Northwest Forest? If you can handle it, come along."
The four members of Han the Person's team chimed in one after another.
Han the Person's expression darkened. He was only level one. How could he dare go to the Northwest Forest?
"Jiu Chen, it's only the third day since we entered the game. Isn't taking everyone to the Northwest Forest a bit too reckless?"
"Reckless? We've already killed a level-four Fierce Beast. Why should we be afraid of level-two and level-three ones?" Han the Person said, holding his head high.
"What? They killed a level-four Fierce Beast? Is that true?"
"Oh my god, when they came back safely yesterday, I thought the Village Chief had rescued them. So they fought their way back themselves."
Xiao Fan and the others had returned to the village alongside Wind Snow Traveler and his group the day before, so the new players had naturally assumed that Wind Snow Traveler had rescued them.
They never imagined that Xiao Fan and the others had killed the level-four Fierce Beast themselves.
Why was there such a huge difference between people?
The previous day, they'd entered the forest and barely killed a few Red-Eyed Rabbits. They'd come back practically empty-handed.
Yet Xiao Fan and the others had already killed a level-four Fierce Beast!
Envious, jealous, and resentful gazes landed on Xiao Fan and the other four, making Han the Person's group feel absolutely fantastic.
They had always been at the bottom of their classes growing up. When had they ever received looks like these?
In the end, the four members of Hard to Figure Out still didn't have the courage to join Xiao Fan's team.
They split into two pairs and joined two of the other teams.
After what had happened the day before, those teams welcomed them gladly. After all, in their eyes, more people meant more strength and greater safety.
Not long after leaving the village, the two teams split up. Xiao Fan led his team northwest.
As soon as they entered the Northwest Forest, Xiao Fan stopped when he saw the Seven-Colored Flowers on the ground.
"What's wrong, Brother Chen?" Zai Zai came over and asked.
"Pull these Seven-Colored Flowers up by the roots and set them aside."
Xiao Fan hadn't had time to replenish his mana while hunting the day before.
His total mana had already exceeded 1,000, but after Gift of the Saint reached level three, each use cost 70 mana.
That meant he could use it at most fifteen times a day, even counting the mana he recovered naturally.
If he wanted to hunt more Fierce Beasts, he would need to use the Gift of the Saint skill often.
By that reckoning, 1,000 mana really wasn't enough.
He had to hunt Fierce Beasts, but he couldn't neglect replenishing his mana, either.
He decided to use the Seven-Colored Flowers to replenish his mana whenever he passed them each day.
Garfield Without Fat stared at Xiao Fan in disbelief.
"No, Brother Chen, what did these Seven-Colored Flowers ever do to you? Why are you pulling them up by the roots? That's just cruel!"
Xiao Chen's face darkened. "I told you to pull them up, so pull them up."
The four members of Garfield Without Fat's team didn't dare say another word. They obediently crouched down and pulled up the Seven-Colored Flowers.
Xiao Fan stood beside them. When he saw a flower's health bar drop to 20, he planted it back in the ground.
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